According to the author, this booklet presents the story of how the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and its African partners are making a difference through Connectivity Africa projects. This publication discusses that as technology transforms developing economies, the gulf between the developed and the developing world steadily increases. Africa is conomically the poorest continent, faced with daunting barriers to development such as the HIV-AIDS epidemic, wars and conflicts, a lack of public infrastructure, and political instability. But at the same time, Africa is the fastest growing mobile telecom market in the world: indeed, 7 of 10 phones in Africa are mobile.

In the past decade, costs for wireless technologies have dropped dramatically, making wireless connectivity affordable to a degree unimaginable in the past. Africa has been at the forefront of bringing wireless access to remote and disadvantaged communities - the continent has a thriving sector that offers community-oriented access through cyber-cafes, telecentres and shared public access telephones. Connectivity Africa is building on this success by partnering with African organisations on small, strategic projects that can serve as models for similar initiatives.

Topics include:

• African solutions to African problems
• Innovation in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs)
• Free State HIV therapy database (ART-HIV)
• Satellite communication for development: Nakasekele centre
• African regional ICTs
• Wireless capacity -building for Africa (WCFA)
• Building research and development capacity in African information

The publication also states that many Connectivity Africa projects focus on African universities as catalysts for research and education, as hubs of innovation, and as places that attract and enable Africa’s future leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Some Connectivity Africa projects focus on giving Africans in remote and rural communities new opportunities.